Leave a Light on
by BraveTheElements
Summary: My 10th Story, get excited. A young widower stumbles upon love unexpectedly. T/E, but do I really do anything else? Rated T, it's a bit different than my other works. Read and Enjoy, maybe even leave a review if you're feeling especially daring.
1. My Two Feet Can Find A Way

**A/N: I was about to go to sleep, but, as always, I had an idea for a story so I decided to stay up and write a bit of it. So hopefully it won't be riddled with grammar mistakes and things of that nature. I hope you enjoy the results of my insomnia. This is, **_**Leave a Light on.**_

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_**Leave a Light On **_

_**Part 1**_

_**My Own Two Feet Can Find a Way**_

It was a cool autumn evening, the perfect kind of evening for Trick or Treating. It's been a long time since I've written in you. One year, two months, seventeen days to be exact. I thought today would have been ad good day to start again. I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. Tommy and I had been walking around together since the beginning of the evening. He couldn't go for so long, only as long as his little legs could carry him. It was approaching the end of his stamina. He yawned, but was still so excited. It was his first year that I let him go to the door by himself. He was a Power Ranger; I didn't know the show still existed. He insisted, and, sure enough, they were there. I'm not sure if he had ever really seen the show before.

"Tommy," I said, getting to one knee, "This is going to be the last house of the night, alright?"

"But Dad!" he yawned, "I still want to Trick or Treat!"

I smiled, "You can't fool me, you're about to pass out you're so tired."

"I'm not tired, see!" He started running in circles around me. When he got in front of me again, I reached out and picked him up. He started laughing and squealing. I put him back down, "Last house, and we can go home and get some food, alright?"

He smiled, "Can we have Spaghettio's?"

"We can have Spaghettio's." He smiled and ran up to the back of the line that was forming in front of the house. I stood back up and watched him. Next to me, a young woman was letter her little girl run up behind Tommy. I turned to her, "Is that your little girl?"

She turned to me. She was, she was simply beautiful. Wavy blonde hair with striking brown eyes, and dressed in a pant suit, "Yeah, well kinda. She's my niece. Which one is yours?"

"He's the little boy at the front of the line. The Power Ranger."

"That show still exists?" she started to laugh.

"I was just as surprised," we both started to laugh, "I'm Theodore Seville, well Theo for short," I extended my hand. She grabbed it and we shook hands.

"I'm Eleanor Miller, but most people call me Ellie," we were still shaking hands. She noticed and let out a nervous laugh. I noticed and let go. We both let out a short laugh, "Who are you supposed to be?"

I was wearing a leather trench coat with a button up, dark blue jeans and red Chuck Taylor's, "Oh," I laughed, "I'm Dwight, Clive Owen's character from Sin City."

"I thought so! I love that movie!" she exclaimed.

"I do too," we lingered in silence for a second and I said, "Who are you supposed to be?"

"I'm Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. I have a poncho and an axe," she pulled them out from behind her, "I took them off, so I guess I just look a girl in a suit," We laughed again, and Thomas ran back to me from the door. When he saw I was talking to her, he slowed down then grabbed onto my pant leg.

She leaned down to his height, "So this is your son, he looks so much like you," he really did, all except his blue eyes, "What's your name, little guy?"

He looked up to me and I said, "Go on, tell her. She's not going to bite, I think," she started to laugh and shake her head 'no'.

He reached out his little hand, "I'm Thomas Seville."

She grabbed his hand and they shook, "and how old are you?" she asked as she let go. He held up five fingers then retreated behind me, "My, he's quite the little gentleman and only five years old! His mother and you must be very proud."

"Yeah," I paused and looked away, "She was very proud," I looked back at her and she stood up, "His mother passed away a little over a year ago."

She crossed her arms, "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have mentioned it."

"Oh," I smiled, "Don't worry, there's no way you could have known," her niece ran up and stood next to her, "You ready to go, Tommy?" He nodded, "Well, it was really nice to meet you, Eleanor," we shook hands again.

"Please, call me Ellie," she started going through her purse, "Listen," she pulled out a pen and a small piece of paper, "If you ever want to, um, hang out or something, here's my number," she extended her arm and I grabbed the paper. I was floored; it had been such a long time.

"Oh, uh, yeah sure! I'll, um, call you sometime."

She smiled, "Cool," put her arm around her niece and started to walk away, "It was nice to meet you too, Theodore Seville."

"Theo's fine," I said as I started to trail off, "Theodore's far too formal anyway," I said softly to myself.

Thomas looked up and me, "Who was that, Daddy?"

"That was Ellie Miller," I said as I picked him up, "You want to ride on my shoulders?" He nodded frantically.

We started to walk home when Thomas said, "She was pretty, like Mommy."

"She was pretty like Mommy, wasn't she?" He nodded, "Let's go get some Spaghettio's," You would have liked her, Mary. She was the sweetest thing. I think Thomas likes her, so that's good thing. I'll talk to you later, okay? Try not to get into trouble up there or anything. I know that might be hard for you.

* * *

The next day, Thomas and I went to go visit my brother at work. His receptionist was charged with the task of taking care of Thomas while we talked, much to my chagrin. He was some corporate type with an ever changing title. I think he's Vice President of Relations right now, whatever that means. I was sitting in his office as he looked out over the city. It was a beautiful view after all.

"Alvin, what am I supposed to do? It's been like 6 years since I've been on a date and all. Should I call her tonight? And what if she's busy, or if she's changed her mind?" I said frantically as he stood there silently. He held up his index finger and I stopped talking.

"Theo, quit talking like you're an old man. You're twenty-eight, you can still do this!" He turned around, "It's like riding a bicycle; you never forget how to do it!"

I put my head in my arms and laid them on the table, "I've completely forgotten everything. I'm screwed; I won't be able to pull it off. I'm sure she's used to suave studs, taking her fancy places. I live in a two bedroom apartment with my five year old stud, working as a patent lawyer."

"You're a lawyer; girls think that's totally hot."

"I'm not that kind of lawyer. I look at molecules and see if they're original. I've only been in a law room once, and I was just a consult. I'm doomed. She's probably used to the best, and I can't provide it."

"Theodore," he sat down, "you're a nice guy, holding down a great job that pays a lot of money. If you don't recall correctly, you don't live in an apartment."

"…I live in a condo."

"You live in a condo," he looked shocked, "Yeah, exactly. A nice condo at that, in the most happening place in town."

"Oh God, she's going to think that it was weird that we were Trick or Treating in that neighborhood. She's going to think that I'm a creep!"

"Gain a hold of yourself!" he lifted my head up and smacked me in the face.

"Hey, what the hell!"

"You needed to calm down, and I provided that," he said as he straightened his suit, "Theo, you're going to do fine, and she's not even going to think about it. At best, you just tell her the truth."

"You're right," oddly enough, his composure slap actually helped, "Thanks for the smack in the face."

He smiled, "I'm always good for a smack in the face."

"I know you are," we both started laughing as his receptionist walked in with two coffees and my son running around her. I mouthed 'I'm sorry', to her and she gave me an indignant look then walked out. I guess it was deserved, "Damn fine cup of coffee, Alvin."

"Twin Peaks reference? What next? Want a piece of pie or something?" We both laughed again.

After a short pause in the laughter I said, "Anyway,"

"Right, we need to get you ready for the ball," he said in jest.

"Right, so what should I do?" I said.

"Well, you know about the three day rule."

"..so she doesn't think I'm desperate."

"So she doesn't think you're desperate," he looked at me and I smiled, "When did you become telepathic?"

"When you started repeating yourself," I joked.

"I'll disregard that. She knows you're widowed, right?" I shook my head in affirmation, "Good, well she'll understand if you call her tonight."

"You really think so?" I said standing up.

"I know so," he said, putting his arm around me, "Would I ever lead you astray?"

"You, Alvin? No! never—"

He laughed, "You and your jokes, Theodore. If the patent law game ever gets boring, you should go into stand up!"

"I'll consider it," I opened the door and Thomas latched onto my leg.

"Goodbye Theo, Thomas. Good luck, little brother,"

"Thank you Alvin," I said.

"Bye-bye, Uncle Alvin!" Thomas yelled.

"One last thing, why aren't you at work today, Theo?"

I laughed, "It's Saturday, Alvin. You're the only professional in the world that works all week."

"It is?" he looked at his watch, "oh yeah I guess it is. I don't think I need to be here today," I closed the door and walked away with Thomas. I heard him yelling to his receptionist as I walked down the hall, "Hey, Mallory, do I need to be here today?"

She laughed, "No, but I get paid whenever you're here."

"You're a tricky woman, Mal."

* * *

"He's a Widower. That's the right word, right? Widower? Yeah. I think that's right," Eleanor was at her sister, Brittney's, house. They were sitting on the veranda, drinking coffee as Eleanor divulged the details of her night.

"Mysterious!" She said mockingly.

"Shut up, it's not like you've had a date in forever."

"Hey, I'm not an open book or anything. I don't tell you every aspect of my life."

"Let's not kid ourselves, Brittney," she said as she laughed, "You tell me everything."

"That may be true," she said, "So I guess I should have taken up Jeanette's request to take Nicole Trick or Treating last night. I could have met the mysterious Widower."

"His name is Theodore Seville, Theo for short, and I can't believe that she asked you before me. We all know who's the most responsible."

"All the insults," she said, "and after I invited you into my home," They both laughed, "So what do you think he's going to do?"

Eleanor sighed, "Probably that stupid three day rule."

"Everyone does it," Brittney said as she got up to get more coffee.

"I don't understand why, it's not like we actually think about it," Eleanor said, taking another drink of coffee, "I would just like him to call. I feel like we had some sort of connection, you know?"

Brittney was smiling as she sat back down with her sister. It was a beautiful morning, the light was soft and the birds chirped with bliss, "Are you sure he's ready to date again?"

Eleanor looked surprised, "I hadn't even considered it," she paused and thought for a second, "Well, he said that it's been over a year, so hopefully that's enough time."

"Let's hope," Brittney said, "Is there any way you can contact him?"

"No," she said sadly, "What do I do now? Just wait for him to call?"

"We can wait, or we can do something about it!" she said with fervor as she jumped out of her chair. She grabbed Eleanor's arm and pulled her out of her chair. She barely had enough time to put down her drink.

"Brittney!" she yelled, trying to readjust herself mid-flight, "Brittney! Come on, what can we possibly do?" she questioned, "Stop dragging me!" she shouted. Brittney stopped and sat down in front of the computer she had in the living room. Eleanor got behind her and watched over her shoulder.

"He might have a Facebook," Brittney said.

"That's brilliant!" Eleanor said as she watched over her shoulder.

Brittney was furiously typing as she went through the people search on Facebook, "Tell me when you see him," Eleanor was looking intently at the screen, waiting to see his face.

After about two minutes, Eleanor perked up about it, "There he is."

Brittney clicked on his profile, "He's cute, and a good father!" it was a picture of him teaching Thomas how to fish, "And he doesn't block his info from non-friends. This gives you a chance to learn more about him. What do you want to know?"

Eleanor thought for a second, "Well, let's start small. Where did he go to school?"

Brittney clicked around, "He went to U.C. Berkeley for Biochemisty. Damn, alright," she laughed.

"What?" Eleanor asked.

"He's going to be way too smart for you!" Brittney said jokingly.

"Shut up, no he won't."

"You aren't going to be to keep up for a minute." She sang.

"Just keep going."

"Brittney was laughing when she said, "Alright, alright. He went to U. of Chicago for Grad school in law. He's a lawyer?"

"I guess, but why wouldn't he be pre-law in undergrad school? Wait, look at this current work, google search that."

"Alright," Brittney opened a new window and typed in the information, "Loven and Co, what is patent law?"

"I'm not sure, I guess I'll ask him," Eleanor said.

"Oh yeah, this is important," Brittney said, "You can't let him know any of this, lest you be seen as a total creeper."

"The dichotomy of your language startles me," Eleanor responded dryly.

"What do you mean?" She turned around to say to Eleanor.

"You used 'lest' and 'total creeper' in the same sentence," Eleanor said as she started to laugh. Just then, she heard her phone ringing from the other room, "My phone!"

"Go get it!" Brittney squealed.

Eleanor ran over to her phone with Brittney closely following, "It's not a number I recognize."

"Just pick it up!" Brittney shouted as Eleanor hit the talk button.

"Hello?" Eleanor said.

"Uh, hi, hey, Eleanor, this is Theo, the guy you met last night," I was back at my condo with Thomas, who was sleeping peacefully in the other room.

"Hey Theo, how are you?" She asked.

I put my hand in his pocket, "I'm, uh, fine, yourself?" I said nervously.

"I'm good, thanks." There was a long paused, Eleanor looked to Brittney with a questioning look on her face. Brittney laid on the ground and started muttering to herself.

"Listen, I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime with me," I said, trying to sound as cool as possible.

"Oh, yeah, I would love to!" she said. Brittney took one hand off her face and looked up. Eleanor smiled and Brittney jumped back up, "Uh, I don't work on Mondays, so we could just go out tomorrow, if that's good for you."

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, "Yeah…" I said it more softly, "I'll pick you up at 7, how does that sound?"

"That sounds great, I'll see you then!" She said.

"Wait, wait, what's your address?" I asked quickly, hoping she hadn't already hung up.

"Oh man, that would have been dumb of us," we both started to laugh, "I live at 17609 East Washington street, apartment 706," she was talking and I was writing furiously, "You got that?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Great!" she said, "I'll talk to you tomorrow, then."

"Cool, great, later," I said.

She put down the phone, "I can't believe he called so soon."

"I need to find myself a widower, I guess," Brittney said with a laugh. They both started laughing. When they calmed down Brittney said, "Hey, remember that he's been out of the game for a while. You may need to make the first move."

"I didn't even think of that," she said. "You're right, he won't be used to all of this. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

* * *

"Daddy, where are you going tonight, and why are you so dressed up?" It was Sunday night, and I was getting ready for my date. Mary, it had been such a long time since I had been on a date, but I think it was time. I hope you're not mad at me, but I don't think you would be. Thomas was following me around as I got ready, asking me all sorts of questions.

"I'm going to see that woman that we met on Friday, you remember her, right?" He nodded his head in affirmation. As I was putting on my tie, I looked out over the city. It was vibrant, but sleepy by comparison to most night. The scene looked well; crazy but not too crazy.

"What are you going to do?"

"Hmm, what do you mean buddy?" I said as I sat on the end of my bed.

He came and sat with me, "What are you going to do with her?"

"Well, we have a few things planned," I never really questioned if he knew about dating, or the concept of dating. I wonder how much he actually knows. The thing I'm worried about the most is how he's going to react. He loved you, Mary he really did. I just don't know how he'll react to me dating. And what if it gets more serious? She might move in or something, how will I explain it to him? I guess that will have to wait, "You ready to go over to Uncle Alvin's house?" He nodded with excitement, "Alright, let's go."

We drove across town to Alvin's house in the suburbs. It was a long drive; I lived downtown, and the night's traffic was troublesome. I never understood why he lived so far uptown, I understand it's a status symbol, but he was so far from the nightlife he loved so much. We drove up, and Thomas was hopping about. I was holding his hand for a while, but he broke free and ran up to the door. Thomas started ringing the doorbell and Alvin answered the door.

"Tommy boy!" Alvin yelled.

"Uncle Alvin!" He jumped into his arms and Alvin picked him up.

I ran up to the door and walked into the house. It was a lovely house, tastefully decorated, with fantastic lighting. I'd like to live where he lives one day, I just don't make the money. When we got to the living room, I put his bags down and said, "Thanks for doing this Alvin."

"It's no problem," Alvin said as he put Thomas down.

"I understand one of us, but why did you want both of us to be here?" Simon said as he walked into the room from the kitchen, "I mean, either of us could have handled it alone."

"I wanted there to be an air of normality, you know?"

Simon laughed, "What's normal about tow dudes taking care of him? It's not like Thomas has had two men taking care of him for a while or anything. It would have been more normal if just one of us did."

"He needed to see the both of you, as did I," I said, "Simon, you're always globetrotting with your company. It was nice for him to actually get a chance to see you. It's not often that you're in town."

Simon smiled, "You're right, and it is nice to see all of you again. He's gotten so big since the last time I saw him."

Alvin started laughing, "That was over two years ago, that's why!"

"I'm flattered that you're keeping track Alvin," Simon said, "You head on out Theo, it's a bit of a drive to get back downtown."

"You're right," I said. The nervousness started to set it, "You guys know how to get him so school, right?"

"We've got it handled," Alvin said.

"I've already taken work off tomorrow, so no problems there," Simon said.

"And, if you need us to pick him up after school we can," Alvin started laughing, "You never know when afternoon delight will strike!"

I grimaced, "I doubt any of that will be happening. I just met her after all."

"You never know," Alvin said slyly, "Now get out of here, you big stud!"

I laughed, hugged Thomas goodbye, and left. The night air was moist, dripping with anticipation. A light breeze floated in. I turned around and looked out the house one last time, "Thanks, guys," I said softly to myself. I walked up to my car and hopped in. I was sweating lightly. It was only sixty-five degrees outside. I must be really nervous.

* * *

I drove back downtown to pick her up. The night air was refreshing, and feeling it flow in and out of my lungs was calming to a degree. I was in a completely different world at this point. I didn't really know what I was doing anymore. It had been so long. There's no way I can pull this off. I got to her apartment building and parked out in front of it.

I went up to the intercom and buzzed her apartment, "Hello?" She called. Her voice was heavenly. I was intoxicated with anticipation.

"Hey, Ellie. It's uh, Theo, can you buzz me in?"

"Theo!" She shouted. It hurt my ear slightly, "Of course," I heard a slight buzzing from the door. I reached out and grabbed it, "Did you get it?" she asked. I wanted to respond, but I can't grab the door and buzz it at the same time, "You there?" I took off my shoe and put it in the door.

I ran over to the intercom, "Yeah, I got it. I'll be up in a second."

"Alright," she said sweetly, "I'll see you in a second," I grabbed the door and my shoe and went inside. I went up the elevator and everything that could possibly go wrong flew through my head. I got to her floor, floor seven. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I got to her apartment. What should I say? Should I keep it cool? Should I be excited? That might be too forward. I should start slow. What if she doesn't like what I've planned? I'm going to mess up. I should probably just knock. I knocked and she started walking towards the door. I started sweating lightly again. I need to calm down. I really need to calm down.

The door opened, "Hey Theo, come on in!" she was wearing a lightly draped forest green dress, the same color as my tie. That was odd, to say the least. She had extravagant gold hoops and pearl white high heeled shoes. She was breathtaking. I walked inside; I didn't really know what I liked like, if I was smiling or anything. I was thinking of too many things. I smelled flowers, but not like they were in a vase or anything. It was strong scent, but not like an air freshener.

"Have you been cooking with White Wine, maybe Pinot Blanc. No, Chardonnay."

She looked shocked, "How, how did you know that?"

"I'm a bit of a cooking nut. I just used some Pinot Blanc in a seared chicken breast with an apple and carrot chutney. Well, since Thomas was born. I really haven't been cooking much besides kid food," I was going on and on. Why didn't I stop talking?

"I am too. I'm sorry, I wasn't sure what you had planned, but I really wanted to show you my cooking. Did you have reservations or something?" She said as she looked worried.

"I did, but they can be cancelled. I'd love to stay in," I took of my jacket and hung it up, "You, uh, look amazing by the way," I said nervously.

She smiled, "Thank you, so do you," she walked into the kitchen, "Want to see what I'm cooking? You said you're a cooking nut? You'll be able to appreciate it."

"Absolutely," I walked in behind her.

"So the main course is Polish sausage cooked in Chardonnay, you were right, by the way. It's going to be on top of a grape reduction with a Turkish styled salad," Eleanor said as she tended to the sausage, "It will be done in maybe ten minutes."

"That all sounds so delicious," I said, "Is there any way I can help?"

"Oh don't worry, I've got it covered," she said, "Want something to drink?"

I leaned against the countertop of her kitchen. It was a well maintained kitchen, frugal, but cozy, "Sure, what do you have?"

"Well, I've been saving this wine for a special occasion," she said.

"Maybe tonight would be a good night!" I said, laughing.

"I think so," she went to the other room, "It's vintage 1973 from Burgundy, France. A Pinot Noir."

"That has to be a two-thousand dollar wine, are you sure?"

"Really?" she said, "I never really knew wine prices. Regardless, a two-thousand dollar wine is probably going to taste amazing," She poured up two glasses and handed me one.

I laughed, "I'm sure it will."

We spent the rest of the night sharing our interests, our professions, talking about our families, our pasts, and our futures. She's a freelance architect. The dinner was simply amazing. This girl, she was so much like me. We shared so many of the same interests had a similar past, and everything. She's a triplet as well. Everything was so uncanny; it was like I knew her all of my life, even though it had only been a few hours.

It was eleven and we found ourselves on her couch telling each other hilarious stories from college. She grabbed the bottle of wine and was pouring her a glass, "Do you want another Theo?"

"I'm not sure, I do need to drive tonight."

"I don't know about that," she said coyly, "maybe you could just stay here the night, if you want," she smiled, put her hand on my knee, lightly bit her lower lip, and shuffled closer to me on the couch. I wasn't really sure what to do next, "Theo, I feel a real connection between us."

"I do too," I said.

"And I don't want to rush you, I'll wait, leave a light on for you."

"I don't want to keep you waiting, and I don't think I will," I leaned in and our lips met in the middle. It had been such a long time. I haven't felt this way in a long time, not since you Mary. We laid down together and continued kissing.

I wish you two could have met. She really makes me happy, and you would have liked her. I hope Thomas will too. I want this all to work out.


	2. Take these Broken Wings

**_Leave a Light On_**

**_Part 2_**

**_Take These Broken Wings_**

Over the course of the next month, we started seeing each other. It was official by the end of November. My brothers both knew about it and her sisters both knew about it, but we had never really met. What may have been even worse was that she still hadn't met Thomas yet. She could have started playing a pivotal role in his life; she needed to meet him. I was just finished with my most recent client, so I had some time to take off. I talked to her, and we decided to spend a Saturday with Thomas, and he would meet her for the first time. It was a cold day, the first of December. Snow covered the city streets. We were going to meet Santa by the end of it at the Fountain Mall on Michigan.

She came over, dressed in a beautiful light green parka with a wool cap and light blue jeans. Regardless of what she was wearing, she was always radiating. She came in from the cold and took of her jacket. She hung it up and said, "So I finally get to meet him today?" she asked with excitement.

"Yep, we're going to spend the day together," I said as I grabbed her purse and put it away. I started walking to the kitchen and she looked worried. I turned around; she was definitely worried about something. I walked back to her, "Are you alright?" I said as I approached her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She crossed her arms and I rubber her right arm, "The entire day?"

"The entire day," I said with a smile, "We're going to see Santa tonight."

"What if he doesn't like me?" she said with a frown, "I really want him to like me, you know?"

"I'm glad that you said that," I said with a smile.

"Why's that?"

"It means that you really care about us," I said with a smile, "I know we haven't really talked about it, but I really want this to work."

She reached out and hugged me, "I do too," she looked up to me and smiled, "That' why I need him to like me!"

"Ellie, he's five," I laughed, "just buy him something when we're out and he'll be ours," she smiled and started laughing.

"Is it really that easy?" she asked in between light laughter. I nodded and we both calmed down. After a minute, we noticed that we were still embracing and broke off of it, looking a tad awkward. She looked away and asked, "What are you cooking?" She was trying to act nonchalant, but it wasn't working. She was so nervous; she has no need to be nervous.

"Just a little breakfast," I said as I motioned her to come to the kitchen, "I know it's not what you, and I guess me, are used to. Cooking for a five year old takes some simplicity. Right now, I'm frying up some sausages with blueberry pancakes and home fries," I started tending to the pancakes, that I had let burn slightly when I was greeting her.

"Simplicity isn't a bad thing," she said as she came over to the over, "I think it all sounds delicious," I smiled and bowed, and she laughed, "You're such a clown!"

"I know that," I walked over to the other side of the kitchen. I loved the smell of cooking; the house was so rarely full of it now. It was just that smell of sweet, fried goodness. I missed it so much. I poured myself a cup of coffee, "Want some?"

"Sure," she walked over, but stopped, "I think he's awake," I listened closely, and I could hear his footsteps running, "What should I do?"

I smiled, "Just follow my lead," He turned the corner and ran into the kitchen. I was always so surprised with him. He was a completely different person in the morning; he was running around and bouncing about. In the afternoon, he was really chill and quiet. At first I thought he was just tired, but he never was, he just acted differently. It's like, when he was sleeping, he was waiting for something, and when he woke up, he couldn't wait to tell everyone, "Hey kiddo!" He ran over to me and I picked him up. He was wearing his pajamas still, "Miss Eleanor is here to visit us; she's going to hang out with us today." He looked over and caught sight of her. He instantly calmed down and I let him down.

"Hello, Thomas," she said as she leaned down to meet him.

"You remember her, right? You met her when we were trick or treating." He grabbed onto my leg and hugged it, "He's a little shy," I said.

Eleanor didn't really know what to do next. She stood back up straight, "Oh, um, that's alright."

"Is this the lady that you're with when I'm at Uncle Simon's house?" He asked after a little bit of silence.

"Yes she is," I said.

"Thanks!" he said to Eleanor.

She leaned back down, a little confused as he unlatched from my leg, "Why do you say that?"

"Whenever you're with my Daddy, I get to go to Uncle Simon or Uncle Alvin's house. They let me stay up late and eat ice cream," Eleanor looked surprised and I started laughing. Thomas smiled a really big smile, and Eleanor started laughing too.

"Those are certainly my brothers," I said, "How about some breakfast then?" Thomas shouted, surprising the both of us. He ran to the table and sat down, "Breakfast?" I asked with a smile.

"I would love some," she responded with a smile.

* * *

We had breakfast, and Thomas changed into proper clothes. It was a tad cold, December would do that to the weather, but it was a very sunny day. The snow had come on last night, augmenting the brightness of the light as we stepped outside. I put on my sunglasses, and the others followed suit. I wasn't sure what we were going to do. I needed some sort of venue where they could get to know one another. Thomas had been bothering me about taking him to the Discovery Zone for a while uptown, but that wouldn't really give them a chance to talk. This was going to be difficult.

"Where do you want to go, Thomas?" He was sitting in the back of the car in his car seat. He wasn't exactly tall enough to sit on his own safely just yet. He looked up to me and shrugged. I laughed, "Is anywhere fine?" He nodded and kept looking out the window.

"He's so well behaved!" Eleanor said glowingly. She turned around and faced Thomas from the front seat, "How did you become so well behaved?" she asked him.

His eyes got wide and he covered half of his face with his coat. I looked in my rear view window at his face. I wasn't sure if he was surprised or scared. He wasn't saying anything and I laughed slightly. I looked at Eleanor; she was looking at me. I shrugged and gave her an empathetic smile, "He's still not used to you," I said softly.

"I know," she looked defeated and I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Ask if he wants to go sledding," I whispered softly. I looked up to see if he had heard me. Thomas absolutely loves sledding.

Eleanor turned around again, "Hey Thomas, do you want to go sledding?"

His eyes lit up, "Yeah! Daddy, can we please go sledding? Please, please, please?" Eleanor smiled hugely. I'm glad that she was able to suggest it.

"Of course we can, buddy. We'll have to go home first and get ready," I said as he shouted in elation. I looked over to Eleanor as I turned back to our house. She mouthed, 'Thank you" to me as I smiled and nodded.

We got back to our apartment and got him into his sledding gear. He looked like a big marshmallow with all of his jackets on. He could barely move in it, but I didn't want him to get too cold. I called up Simon, who's house had a large enough hill to sled on. Living in the suburbs has that advantage. We grabbed the sleds and headed out.

When we arrived at his house, Simon was already outside with Alvin, both of them were sledding. As fully grown adults, they still acted like kids. I certainly wasn't expecting Alvin to be there; I guess he was itching to meet Eleanor. They were so ridiculous sometimes; they were always trying to meet who I was with. Remember when they conveniently showed up to the same restaurant that we were at on our second date? Yeah, they always did things like that. We walked over to the hill they were at, meeting them at the top. Thomas waddled quickly over to his uncles. He shouted and Simon picked him up, best to his abilities. It was hard to lift him when he was so bundled up like that. Alvin took of his snow visor and walked over to us. The snow was drifting about as the breeze was flowing over the ground.

"Lake effect snow, am I right?" Alvin said as he extended his hand, "It's good to finally meet you. I'm Alvin, his brother."

Eleanor took his hand and they greeted one another, "I've heard so much about you already," she smiled, "It's not like we're meeting for the first time, rather seeing each other again after a long absence."

Alvin laughed, "Eloquently put, she's quite a catch bro," I blushed and Eleanor laughed. Simon walked up, still holding Thomas.

"And you must be Simon," Eleanor said as he put down Thomas, who immediately ran back to the sleds, "I've heard so many things about you too."

He shook her hand, "I hope it's only good things!"

"Of course!" she said that and Thomas fell into a large patch of snow. Simon and I ran over to get him out, "So, Alvin," Eleanor said carefully, "How long had uh,"

"How long was he widowed before he met you?" she nodded. Simon went on a sled down with Thomas as I stood at the top of the hill, watching the two of them. I looked over to the two of them conversing. I didn't know then, but I always thought I knew they were talking about it, "A little over a year I think."

"Okay," she said apprehensively. She was worried and I knew it, I just, I just never thought it was the right time to tell her all the details of my past just yet. I didn't know when that time was, but it simply wasn't then. It would be at one point.

"Hey, don't worry. The way he talks about you, he really likes you. I don't know how he's doing, you know, mentally, but I can't read minds. I know he's happy with you," she smiled and he turned around and walked back to the hill and Eleanor followed behind.

She was smiling, "I like your brother, he's a good guy," she said as Alvin went down a sled and met Thomas and Simon at the bottom to the hill.

"Alvin? Yeah, he is," I laughed, "He must have said something amazing to you if like him already. He's not the best with first impressions."

"What he said? It was, good. Yeah, it was," she smiled and grabbed a sled off the ground, "Want to go down?"

I laughed, "Absolutely."

We spent the rest of the day sledding until darkness fell. Thomas was so tired; he almost fell asleep after we ate dinner at Simon's house. We drove home in silence, Thomas as fully asleep in the backseat.

We walked into the house as I carried Thomas inside. We got in and Eleanor said, "Do you think he likes me?" she was so worried. She was so cute when she would worry about things. Her face would scrunch up and she would sway slowly.

"I'm sure he does," as I said that Thomas yawn and said something unintelligible, "What was that, Tommy boy?"

"Can Miss Eleanor come over more? We don't go sledding when she isn't here," he said before he fell asleep.

"I guess he likes you," I said as she put her arms around me.

"I'm so happy that he does," she said with a sigh of relief.

* * *

"So, I'll get to meet your sister slash roommate tonight?" Eleanor and I were at bar on the north side. I hadn't met anyone from her family yet, even though she lived with her older sister. She was always out when we were together. I didn't mind it; it was nice to have alone time when we were at her apartment.

"Hopefully, if she ever shows up," we had been waiting for a long time, but I didn't mind it. We just got to sit together and talk. Alvin came back with four beers.

"Is your sister ever going to come? I'm tired of being the fourth wheel!" Alvin insisted that he should come after I mentioned she had a sister. It was lucky that she was single; Alvin didn't even ask.

"Why are you so anxious, Alvin?" I asked with a mischievous smile on my face.

"Oh, no reason, really," He said as he looked at the door. Brittney walked in, bringing in a rush of cold air. Eleanor waved her over and she sat down, taking a beer for herself.

"I'm assuming this is mine then, thanks guys," she took a drink and put it down, "Theodore, it's so nice to finally meet you. All she talks about is you, really," Brittney said with a smile. Eleanor laughed and smacked her on the back, "Ow, what the hell? I was merely telling the truth!"

"You're so… honest… Brittney" Eleanor said, gritting her teeth, "That's why I love you so much."

"Aw, I love you too," Brittney took another drink, "And who are you?" she said, intrigued by Alvin.

Alvin held out his hand, "I'm Alvin, Theodore's older brother," The music from the dance floor was overflowing the rest of the bar, "It's nice to meet you, what did you say your name was?"

"I didn't," she said, "It's Brittney Miller. What bring you to our little get together?"

He laughed, "I would never miss an opportunity to have fun with my little brother here."

"That's awfully caring of you," she played with her hair.

"How about you and I go dance?" Alvin asked as he held out his hand again.

"That sounds like a great idea," the two of them went off to the dance floor.

I laughed, "It was nice to meet her."

Eleanor put her face in her hands, "That's Brittney, alright."

"They seem so similar," I said, "She is single, right?"

She nodded, "Yeah, yeah, as of right now, yeah."

"Good," I said, "Sometimes Alvin has a problem with telling the difference, even after he's been told," I said as we both laughed.

We spent most of the night talking about everything and anything. Alvin and Brittney would come back every once and a while and talk with us for a couple of seconds or have a drink. Most of the night, they were off on the dance floor. Eleanor filled me in with most of Brittney's past, so I guess I met her, but saying that wouldn't be exactly correct. I saw her for a few seconds, so that's a good thing. It was about one a.m. and they showed back up and the table, Alvin had his arm around her. The two of them looked exhausted, and maybe a tad drunk.

"Hey, Ellie," Brittney said as they sat back down, "We're going to head out for the night, cool?" she took a sip of Eleanor's drink, "Oh that's good. It was lovely to meet you for the first time, Theodore."

I laughed, "Why did you include 'for the first time'?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you meet someone, it's always for the first time, isn't it?"

She laughed, "You're witty, aren't you?" she leaned over to Eleanor's ear, "He's even cuter in person, too," she wasn't exactly speaking softly. Eleanor pushed her gently and I smiled, "Well, we'll leave you two to do whatever," They both walked out of the bar, laughing together.

"I'm assuming…"

"Yeah Facebook. We looked you up after we met," we both laughed.

"How about we get out of here?" I said. She smiled and nodded. We walked out of the bar into the cold night. Thomas was at Simon's house again for the night. He was such a saint, taking him in so many times for me. Thomas seemed to like it there, so that was good.

We walked to the subway that would take us back to my apartment, or at least, close to it. The snow was softly falling in the busy city; it was peaceful and full of life, "Theodore," Eleanor said after a bit of walking.

"Yeah?" I asked. She seemed serious. I had never seen her serious before. She was always so light-hearted.

"I was wondering," oh god, I wasn't planning for this to happen just yet, "If you don't mind me asking…"

"About my wife?"

"You and your brothers, you're really good at reading minds," she said with a soft smile. I brushed the snow off of a ledge and we sat down.

"It's about time. I've been planning to tell you for a long time, but I didn't know when the right time would have been, you know?" she nodded in affirmation, "Well, two Augusts ago, Thomas was at daycare and she was going to pick her up…"

It was a warm August day, and Mary had the windows open. The warm breeze was flowing into the car. She always liked to have it that way. She was out, getting the groceries for the week. I was at home, working on my most recent case. A young man was claiming that he had rights to a certain name. Cut and paste, it was a simple case. I looked at the time; it was 1:30 p.m. I had forgotten, today was my day to get Thomas, and Mary had the car. There was no way I could get him by using a bus or the Subway. I was too far away. I picked up my phone and gave her a call.

After a few rings, she picked up, "Hey Teddy, what's up? Want me to pick up something specific?"

"Actually yes," I said with a laugh, "I got so involved with finishing the case that I forgot to go leave to go get Thomas."

She laughed, "I thought that this is what this was going to be about. I can go get him, as long as you cook dinner tonight."

"Fair trade. I'll see you when you get back."

"Alright," she said, "love you, Teddy."

"I love you too," I hung up the phone and she redirected her course. She was originally headed straight home, but, now with this, she needed to go get Thomas a few streets down. She turned up the radio and waited at the light.

"Sometimes, Theo," she said to herself, "I don't know how you can keep track of everything you do," she laughed to herself.

The sun was high and bright that day; there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The city was warm; it made the sewers smell foul. It was pretty awful; I don't know how she managed to always roll down the windows when she drove around. I could never do it. She put on her sunglasses and focused on the road.

She grabbed her phone from her purse and dropped it to the floor, "Shit," she said softly. She reached down and grabbed the phone. Someone honked form behind her and she jumped up. She looked at the light; it was green. She waved and turned to another street. She was driving; there were so many cars around her. She looked around and merged to the farthest right lane. She heard a siren coming from an unknown direction. It was faint, but not uncommon. The streets were busy with people, there were bound to be a few police driving around. She got to an intersection and heard the police coming closer. _I wonder where they're coming from_, she thought, _They aren't coming close are they?_

The light turned green. She crept into the intersection to turn left. The sirens got louder. She turned to her left, and a car was coming in, fast. She looked to merge right, but there were too many people. The car kept coming. It was getting slower, or at least it looked like it was. The sirens got louder, they were behind the car, _He isn't stopping. I can't go anywhere. I'll get hit every direction,_ she waved at the other motorists to stop, but they weren't heeding. The car was at the intersection. She saw the driver's face, he was terrified.

_What am I to do?_

"She got T-boned on the side from the driver. I got the call from the police right after it happened. I called Alvin, who went out to pick up Thomas from his preschool and I rushed to the hospital. I saw the car later, it was completely destroyed. She was gone before I got there," I started to tear up a bit. Eleanor grabbed onto me and held tightly.

"You can stop, Theodore," She started crying, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you—"

I interrupted her with a kiss. We were both a little teary, "No, no, I needed to tell you. I haven't told anyone the entire story, that it was my fault that she died. I need to say it. Thank you Eleanor."

"No, it wasn't anything. I still feel bad that I did it," she sniffled and hugged me.

After a little pause I looked to her, "I love you, Eleanor."

Her eyes were full of admiration. She sniffled again, "I love you too!" Her voice was a bit shaky, but so was mine. I was so happy; I hadn't been this happy in a long time. It was such a long time.

* * *

"Happy New Year!" The crowd shouted as the clock struck midnight. Eleanor and I attended a party run through her office. I never really understood what all she did at her job. She was always so mysterious for whatever reason; regardless, they threw a great party. I met her friends, her boss, everything. It was nice to be out with her; the last month had a little slow. I was starting to get a little stagnated, work was slow, and nothing seemed to be going on. Eleanor was busy a lot this month with a job opportunity that I didn't know anything about. Always so mysterious, that woman. I had my arm around her shoulder and we were both smiling. She looked up to me and we shared our first kiss of the New Year.

"An absolutely amazing party, Eleanor," I shouted. The room was amazingly loud this people conversing, "It's odd, I've never heard of people doing a New Year's party instead of a Christmas Party."

"Yeah," she said, "We decided that non-Christians probably didn't want to do the whole Christmas things, so we went secular."

"Progressive!" I said with a small laugh.

"What?" She looked at me, and I grabbed her hand and pulled her into another room.

I whispered to her, "Progressive."

She laughed, "I know!"

"Are you ever going to tell me what you do?"

She smiled, "I think you ought to know," She grabbed my hand and led me through the crowd. People were hugging and drinking together. The room was overflowing with positive emotion. It was so lovely; the whole room was lit in a soft golden glow. It was ethereal, like I was transported to another world. As we went away from the crowd, we could hear the festive music playing. We walked into an office and she lit it up. I looked at the desk and picked up a picture. It was of us, a time we were out on the street. Such a simple photo, but it spoke volumes, "Well, I wanted to keep this a secret," she grabbed a book from under her desk, it was a cookbook.

"You're an author?" I asked.

"Not exactly, well yeah, now I am. I started here as a lackey, an intern or whatever, and I've been working as a writer's aide for a couple of years. I would go to authors that were struggling and help them. After a while, I got moved to a part of a company that specialized in culinary writing."

"A department for cookbooks?"

"Exactly!" she said with a laugh, "After a while there, I pitched my book that was just a mélange of different recipes I had picked up over the years, targeted towards low-budget cooking. It's a lot of stuff that I made in college and shortly afterwards," She handed me the book, "It's not coming out until next March, but I wanted you to have the first copy."

"Wow, this is, so amazing!" I said with enthusiasm, "you kept it a secret to surprise me? Thank you so much!" I reached out and hugged her. We started kissing. She pushed the papers off her desk and we laid on top of it, "On your desk? This is hot."

"I know. I've wanted to, but never really got the chance," her eyes were soft and welcoming. I leaned back in, but my phone vibrated in my pants.

"I'm sorry, one second," I looked at it, but I didn't recognize the area code, "what's this area code?" I showed her the phone.

"+44? No, I'm not sure. Answer it anyway!" she said with excitement.

"Alright," I answered the phone, "Theodore Seville."

"Mr. Seville, I'm sorry for calling you so late, but the time difference would mean that one of us would be awake late," The man spoke with a British accent, "I trust that you haven't been celebrating too, hard, tonight?"

"Well, not really, but who is this?"

"Oh yes, where are my manners. So many things on my mind you see. I'm Dr. Randolf Serge, I'm the CFO. I know, you as a freelance man, would have never met me, but I'm the boss of your boss."

"Oh, excuse me then sir. It's nice to hear from you. I hope everything is alright?"

"Indeed it is, you see, I've been looking for someone to take over for the newly opened position of Vice President of the company. I was going through all the records, and it seems that you are the most qualified by far. Your track record is simply impeccable, and you seem to have your MBA as well."

"I do indeed."

"Well, we want to give you the promotion. You'll be making substantially more money, of course."

"Well, I'd love it, when do I start?"

"We'd like to have you here by February."

"Here?" I asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, here in Glasgow of course."

"I would have to relocate?"

"Well yes. We can't have the VP in America, now can we?"

"Oh," I hesitated, "Of course not," I looked to Eleanor. She was waiting with anticipation. I would have to leave America, "How much more money are we talking here?" Eleanor's eyes were surprised. She mouthed, 'What's going on?' to me and I smiled and waited.

"Around fifty percent more."

Fifty Percent. Thomas could go anywhere for school. I could give him anything he would ever need. We could be comfortable, "I accept then."

"Fantastic. I'll fax you all the official forms, but I wanted to tell you in a more personable fashion. It will be a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Seville."

"Yes it will, Mr. Serge," he hung up and so did I.

"What was that about? Are you getting a raise or something?"

"Kinda, I just got promoted." I said.

She squealed, "That's amazing!" she hugged me. I held her softly back. She looked up, "You don't seem to be that excited."

"The company I work for is based out of the UK. That's why I didn't recognize the area code. I'll have to move to Glasgow. In Scotland."

Eleanor's eyes went from jubilation to sadness, "What?"

"By February they want me there. I don't know what I'm going to do."

"What does this mean for us?" she asked.

I looked at her with sad eyes. She followed suit, looking worried. I wasn't used to this kind of worried. When she was worried like this, I couldn't handle it. I turned away from her with my head down and said, "I don't know."


	3. We Share in Each Other

**A/N: I did finish Leave a Light on before the end of September like I promised Simkaye, so that's a plus. Enjoy the conclusion for those of you who are still around since I left.

* * *

**

"So you're going to go with him, right?" Brittney and Eleanor had spent the day together. When Eleanor came home, she told her about what had happened, and Brittney immediately decided that they needed to spend the entire day together. Neither of them had gotten dressed yet; still sitting in their pajamas in the living room. The snow outside softly fell on the window, and their voices matched the occasion.

Eleanor sat across from Brittney and pondered the question. Her heart had already said yes, "How are you pausing?" Brittney snapped. Eleanor broke out of her trance, her train of thought, and focused on her sister, "Ellie, I've never seen you this happy before. You need to go with him."

"Brittney—" she said with a small pause, "I just, I don't want to leave you and my friends—"

"Stop with all that talk," Brittney said, "I'll be fine; I'm a big girl now. I want you to be happy," Brittney smiled a soft smile and Eleanor returned the affection. Brittney wasn't usually this supportive and it caught her off guard.

_She's right, _Eleanor thought to herself, _I, I am really happy. _Eleanor stood up, "Alright, I'll go talk to him now about going with him."

Brittney stood up next to her and the snow started to fall faster, "Let's get you packed! When does he leave?"

"Oh," Eleanor paused, "In February, but he plans on leaving as soon as possible to get a place and get Thomas enrolled in schools there, I think."

"Well," Brittney said, "Go get changed, you'll need to be looking your best."

Eleanor smiled and started walking out of the room with Brittney in tow. Eleanor walked into her room and looked out the window before going to the closet. The snow had stopped, but the sun was still hidden by clouds. She went over to the window sill and felt the cold glass, _I'm sorry I'll have to leave you, _She thought, _but he's more important to me. My old life, everything. Everything I'll have to leave behind. _She started to tear up softly. Tears damped her cheeks; her face turned a slight tinge of red. She didn't know why she was crying, but she was. She tried to remember. If the first tear comes from the right eye, it means she's crying from happiness. If it comes from the left, that means pain. Which eye was first?

* * *

Thomas and I went over to Alvin's house. The suburbs weren't as well plowed as the inner city, and thus they had been stuck there for a while. I told them about his promotion and re-location. They asked me what I was going to do, but I wasn't sure. What am I to do?

"I think the choice is obvious," Alvin said, "Just stay here. You're making good money and your expenses are really low, aren't they?"

"Mortgage is high and utilities are on the rise. My car is paid off, but, I still have student loans," I always had student loans. That's the problem with going to school for 7 years, tons of debt.

"But you had scholarships for the last couple of years, right?" Simon asked.

"It doesn't matter when your undergraduate ends up costing sixty thousand in the end," I said, "I'll need the money; I don't make a whole lot free-lance, not as much as either of you.," I turned my head. Thomas was sitting on the floor, playing with some toys I had brought. Everything, I could give him everything he could ever need with this new job, "Schooling is only getting more expensive. By the time Thomas is in college, I wouldn't have been able to save enough to help him go anywhere. I don't want him to have to settle. This job gives me the opportunity to do it all."

"What's the price you pay by going? You give up the possible love of your life?" Simon was playing devil's advocate.

"I know, but sacrifices will be made."

"Wait, you don't have to be the martyr," Alvin said, "just ask Ellie to go with you. This way you and Thomas get what you need."

"Alvin," I said slowly, "Of course I considered asking her to go with me. We've only been together for two months, actually not even that, less than that. She would be crazy to take a chance like that. What if we don't work out? Then she's in Scotland with only the money she had saved, which I'm betting isn't a whole lot considering she doesn't have much to save for. She's not going to be able to get a job instantly, and, if we're to break up, I don't think she would ask for my help to get back here. It would be insane for her to come with me. I simply won't allow it; I don't want to mess up her life. Besides, she would be giving up everything, her friends, her family her life, for me. I," I paused for a second. I had been flowing so hard that I hadn't realized how hard it was for me to say this, "I don't want to be selfish. I don't deserve to have her give up everything for me."

I stopped and took a deep breath. Alvin looked away from me and there was a pause for about thirty seconds until Simon said, "You're basing all of this on the fact that you two might break up."

"Yeah, that's right," I replied.

"You two aren't going to break up," Simon said as he cleaned his glasses in his shirt. He had been doing that since we were kids and it never ceased to amaze me how his exact mannerisms hadn't changed, "Sometimes," he said, putting his glasses back on, "People are meant to be together," he smiled, "You two are like that. You're simply meant to be together."

"Simon, I—"

"No, no responses," he said as he interrupted me, "You're meant to be together and I don't want to hear anything else about it." He walked over to Thomas and picked him up.

"You're not—"

"Stop!" he walked out of the room with Thomas. Alvin smirked and I put my head in my hands.

"You still not know what to do?" Alvin asked.

"Of course not. I can't have her leaving everything behind. I won't allow it."

"I guess that means," Alvin said, "Regardless of what she wants to do, you won't let her come with you?"

"I guess that would be it, yes."

"You sounds crazy," Alvin said, "Just ask her if she wants to go with you."

"I can't. I can't let her make a mistake. I can't let her say yes."

"I think," he said, "You're either afraid of her saying no, or you're afraid of how happy you could be," Alvin walked out of the kitchen, leaving me out to dry. I hate it when they get this way. They truly don't know what I have to do. They don't know what's best.

* * *

"He hasn't returned my calls in days. I think he's avoiding me," Eleanor had been trying to contact me for a number of days but hadn't, well, she hadn't been able to get a hold of me. Now, she stood on the front steps of her building with Brittney. They had just returned from shopping for travel gear, "I know that he's planning on leaving soon, but I'm not sure when. I need to know so I can get a ticket, or maybe he's gotten me a ticket already. I just need to talk to him."

"Doesn't he work out of his place?" Brittney said.

"He does."

"So, you should just stop by," Brittney stated, "I mean, he doesn't have a lot of places to go. He could be running errands or getting Thomas from school, but that would be the extent of his travel, wouldn't it?"

"You're right!" Eleanor grabbed her phone and checked the time, "I'll be able to catch the subway and get there in no time! He's probably just been really busy with his job stuff."

"Yeah, probably," Brittney said with a weak smile. She wasn't sure why, but she thought she knew why I wasn't returning all of her calls.

"You don't sounds so convinced."

"Well, maybe—" she stopped.

"Go on…" Eleanor knew what was coming next but she needed Brittney to say it for it to be real. She had considered it too, that he wasn't going to take her with him. She didn't want it to be real.

"Maybe… he doesn't want you to come," as soon as she said that she cringed. It looked like she was expecting to be yelled at, hit, or something of that nature. She averted her gaze, but Eleanor didn't respond. She looked to her sister and noticed that she was now crouched down, playing with the light snow on the ground.

"I thought about that. I thought that maybe he doesn't want me to come, but I need to know. I don't, I don't want him to leave without me knowing why," Eleanor stood back up straight and faked a smile, "It, it wouldn't be the end of the world if he, if he didn't…"

Brittney saw that her sister was suffering and brought her in for a hug, "Forget what I said," she pulled away from her, "He's probably just been busy."

Eleanor popped a smile, "I know, yeah, you're right. You're right, I'll go talk to him now," Eleanor walked off their front steps and left towards the subway. The snow had stopped falling but it left a light layer on the ground. The streets were filled with black snow and dust, leaving a brown tone all around her. She looked about her, as she was prone to do when travelling alone. People looked like nothing else as she moved towards her goal.

The subways were cold with the feeling of loneliness creeping into her heart. She hadn't contemplated what would happen if she didn't go. She was ready to sacrifice her old life for her new one.

"You looked troubled, Ellie," Alvin was sitting down a few seats behind her. She had passed him as she walked to where she was, but she didn't see him. Her heart was set on finding what she needed, and nothing else mattered at the time. She turned around and suddenly looked surprised, "I think I may know why."

"What is he doing Alvin?" She asked.

"He's not letting you sacrifice your life for him," Alvin said as he closed his newspaper, "He's always been a martyr; he doesn't let anyone give up anything but himself."

"So, he's leaving without me?" the idea sent a shiver up her spine. She was tingling with the idea; her heart immediately started to hurt. She didn't know what to do.

"He is," upon hearing this she sat down on the floor of the subway and put her head in her hands. She slightly recollected herself and tucked her knees into her chest and put her head down.

"I, I thought as much," she said, trying her hardest not to cry, "When is he leaving? I, I want to," she thought about what she wanted to do for a second. She wanted to go with him; she wanted more than anything to drop everything and leave, but she was conflicted. She didn't want to invade his personal space, "say goodbye."

Alvin pulled out his phone and started texting someone. He was responding to a previous text when he put the phone back and looked at her, "Is that all you want to do, or is there…"

"I want to, I want to go with him," she was choking back the tears at this point and Alvin noticed it.

He started to smile, "I was hoping you would say that," he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope, "I have here a ticket for the flight that he's on, right next to him. Take it," He tossed it to the ground in front of her.

She picked it up and started smiling uncontrollably, "Alvin," she paused, "I barely know you, but you've just done one of the most amazing things anyone has ever done for me. Why?" As she said that, the train stopped and jerked hard. She fell to the ground. Alvin chuckled and walked over to help her up. He extended a hand and pulled her up. People rushed by to get off.

"I haven't seen Theo happy in such a long time. Like happy at all, literally unhappy. You made him happy. I want you to continue to make him happy," he looked at the schedule, "Brittney's already packing your things for us to send off to you when you get there," He put his hands behind her back and pushed her gently off the train, "This is your stop."

She looked around, and it was the stop right outside of the airport, "You're right," she smiled and tears started streaming down her face, "Thank you so much, Alvin! Look after Brittney while I'm gone."

"Oh," he chuckled again, "I shall." With that the doors closed. She turned around and started running. She looked at her watch, and then at the ticket. She only had two hours to get on the flight.

* * *

"Are you ready to leave, Tommy boy?" Thomas and I had finished packing and were heading for the airport. It had been a week's long process, all the while, I couldn't talk to Eleanor. I didn't know if it was the best idea to just disappear but I wasn't sure what to do. I think she would understand, if I left as the bad guy, she would be able to move on easier. I really am a martyr, aren't I? Thomas shook his head as he walked down the stairs. He had on his winter's coat and a little backpack with stuff for him to do on the long flight.

I called a cab to come pick us up, and we loaded all of the things we would need to live for a while unto the car. Alvin and Simon were having the rest of it sent to us later, when we needed it. I didn't know what we would do about the car, though. The flight to the airport was long and smoky, as the cab driver insisted on smoking the entire way.

"Daddy?" Thomas asked after a while.

I looked down to him, "Yeah?"

"Where's Ellie?"

I paused, "What do you mean?"

"She's coming with us, isn't she?"

"I," I paused again, "No, she's not."

"Why," he started to tear up a bit, "Why not?"

"It's because," I stopped and dried his tears, "it's because she has a life here. I can't pull her away from that."

"But, she has to go with us!"

"She can't, bud," Thomas buried his head into his booster seat and started crying," I took him out of his seat and held him, "I know, I'm going to miss her too."

I'm sitting on the plane and immediately regretting all of my decisions. I wish I would have talked to her. I was sitting on the seat near the window. The sky was a perfect sort of blue, a tragic coincidence that I haven't seen it like that in a long time. Thomas was sitting next to me, asleep. He was so excited that he couldn't get to sleep last night.

"We're going to be leaving in ten minutes," the pilot announced.

I have ten minutes to take Thomas off the plane and run back and get her. But I can't. I don't have the right too. I put my head up against the seat in front of me. I couldn't imagine what I had done. I had lost.

"Excuse me sir, I think you're in my seat," I looked up. It must have been the other person sitting here, "My ticket says I have A87, which is your seat. You must have assumed that you would have known the person and thus could have taken their seat."

"Eleanor."

She was crying lightly, and I followed suit, "You're a terrible jackass, but you're lucky you have amazing siblings."

"They always know what's best for me."

"Why did you do it?"

"I didn't want to tear you away from your life."

"You should have asked me."

"I," I paused, "I think I was afraid you would have said no."

"Never in a million years," I leaned over sleeping Thomas and we kissed softly.

"One thing though."

"Yes?"

"Where is all of your stuff?"

* * *

"I have very few memories of my biological mother. I remember she had auburn hair, but that's where it ends. Luckily, I was blessed enough to have another mother," It was twenty years later. Thomas had moved to California with his betrothed and we were attending his weeding. Twenty of the best years of my life. That's truly saying something because college was fantastic, "My father met Eleanor when I was five, and she was immediately willing to be my mother. I'm so thankful for you, Mom," We had two other children, who are both 19 and 16. Thomas was following in my footsteps and trying to become a patent attorney. You would have been so proud; he's really grown up to be a fine man. He still has your eyes, regardless of what people say. He's always had your eyes.

I hope you're doing well Mal, "Thomas," I said to him during my toast, "and Marissa, I hope you two the best, and I hope you find time to do everything, and nothing at all. The best advice that I can give you is that you need time to do nothing. Sometimes, nothing is for the best," she's really good for him, makes him work harder. She also planned the weeding perfectly. She reminds me a lot of Eleanor, she's a blonde like her at the very least.

"Thanks Dad," Thomas said, taking the microphone. The reception was simply beautiful, "And Dad, I still haven't thanked you yet."

"There's no need; it was my job, after all."

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

"Well then," he said, tossing the microphone, "Let's eat!"

Later Eleanor and I were returning to our hotel room. The company had a series of rooms in hotspots on permanent reserve and they allowed us to use it. I sat with the love of my life in our disgusting hotel bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Thank you."

"What?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For showing up on that plane. You did more for me that day than anyone else ever has. I have you to thank for my life as it is."

"No need for thanks. I was just doing my job," I smiled, and she returned it as she always does. I really didn't deserve her, but I was glad.

I was glad that she was there.


End file.
